Land Acknowledgements have become a ubiquitous part of universities. They purport to remember, honor, and bear witness to the future of Indigenous nations and to recognize the land and honor local Indigenous communities. While acknowledging the Indigenous peoples upon whose lands we work is an essential gesture, the authors join other scholars who…

Due to a decline in civic engagement as well as civic education initiatives, many adults are left without opportunities to be able to learn more about the skills and knowledge needed to participate within society. This dissertation documents civic education initiatives offered to adults in Central Texas. The research questions guiding the study…

Teaching-focused professional development (PD) programs offered at institutions of higher education (IHEs) are uniquely positioned to be levers of change that improve the quality of undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education in ways that broaden participation in STEM education, workforce development, and…

This phenomenological study explores best practice strategies of Chief Diversity Officers (CDOs) in Texas universities in advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Due to the passing of Senate Bill 17, most Chief Diversity Officers were reclassified, and departmental modifications were made. Eight CDOs with a minimum of two years of…

This report presents the results from the third biennial Texas OER Landscape Survey, administered in 2023 and commissioned by the Digital Higher Education Consortium of Texas (DigiTex) and the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB). The survey aimed to explore the open educational resources (OER) landscape, policies, and practices at…

In order to assist higher education institutions and their students during the pandemic, the federal government established the Higher Education Emergency Relief (HEER) Fund, which directed over $75 billion to institutions of higher education--including nearly $25 billion to community colleges--over a three-year period. The U.S. Department of…

With a decade-long stagnant 34% Black male college graduation rate, there was little understanding of how and why Black male initiatives, designed to improve Black male persistence and graduation in 4-year colleges, affected retention and graduation-related behaviors, as understood by the Black male participants in such initiatives. This…

This report presents the results of a biennial independent survey commissioned by the Digital Higher Education Consortium of Texas (DigiTex), in collaboration with the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB), to examine the landscape of Open Educational Resources (OER) programs, policies, and practices at higher education institutions in…

In spring 2022, the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Educational Technology (OET) committed to advancing digital equity through the Digital Equity Education Roundtables (DEER) Initiative. Through DEER, OET hosted a series of national conversations with leaders from community-based organizations, as well as families and learners furthest…

This document traverses through a series of genealogical stories that span close to a century to provide context to higher learning, education, and development. The stories of elders help us re-member their dreams, re-frame the process for growth, and re-imagine the possibilities for development at the self, organizational, and community levels.…

This report presents the results of an independent survey commissioned by the Digital Higher Education Consortium of Texas (DigiTex, formerly the Virtual College of Texas), in collaboration with the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB), to examine the landscape of Open Educational Resources (OER) programs, policies, and practices at…

As a result of decades-long dwindling arts funding sources, U.S. nonprofit dance companies struggle to emerge and be sustained. However, mutually beneficial relationships are often developed between nonprofit dance companies and educational institutions such as K-12 schools, universities, and private studios. These relationships enhance students'…

Despite emerging scholarship on translanguaging pedagogies and the potential Faculty Learning Communities (FLC) have on shifting pedagogical beliefs, there are limited studies that explore the impact a faculty learning community has on educators' perceptions and reflections on translanguaging as a teaching and learning tool in higher education.…

Researchers interviewed higher education professionals, asking: How do professionals working in higher education equity and access sectors, both public and private, assign responsibility for improving access, and what solutions do they propose? Informed by Kingdon's multiple streams framework and Guajardo et al.'s theory of change in action,…

This study examines the efforts of higher education systems in six states to implement large-scale changes to improve student outcomes in mathematics in community colleges and four-year colleges and universities as part of the Mathematics Pathways to Completion (MPC) project. The three-year project was launched in 2015 to help Arkansas,…